Steve Klc

How about 1) concentration and diversity of media devoted to dining, chefs and gastronomy? and 2) competitiveness of chefs within a city and climate of competitiveness for restaurateurs?

New reads: 1. Paul Lukacs--"American Vintage: From Isolation to International Renown--The Rise of American Wine" Mentioned in the same Post article that Helena referred to. He is such a good writer sometimes it makes me blush. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21575-2001Nov27.html 2. Karen MacNeil's "The Wine Bible" (ฤ, Workman Publishing) Her book is as amazing as she is and, inexplicably, not included on Ben Giliberti's holiday book gift list. Old read: Kermit Lynch's "Adventures on the Wine Route--A Wine Buyer's Tour of France" from 1988.

Bobferdon--how responsible do you feel the champagne producers themselves are for creating that image here in the states? The deeper I dug into champagne (and to a lesser extent sparkling wine production) I came away amazed with the complexity of it all behind the scenes, the blending of vintages, holding back reserve wines tied to specific plots of land, etc. Then the politics--the historical rating of villages or crus which in turn determined the price paid for grapes, the myriad small growers selling to a big houses, willingly bound by long term contracts, large houses buying up vineyards in order to control price and production and then there are those small producers--the unknown gems Adam calls attention to. Apart from the big houses, Karen MacNeil in her new book "The Wine Bible"--which I cannot recommend highly enough--recommends these small growers now exporting champagne in small amounts: Rene Geoffroy, Jean Milan and Pierre Peters

Steven--why is it the best? how do you draw the distinction between the two levels of greatness?

I think I tend to agree with those who feel it's impossible to generate or define a unique national cuisine nowadays. "Uniquely Canadian" or defining "Canadian Cuisine" seems to me an exercise in futility. But perhaps it is possible--if not for Canada--then for another country or region or city? Using local ingredients is not enough, and techniques and presentation ideas have readily been assimilated by chefs working everywhere, as Steven has mentioned. Lesley C has coined this the Art Culinaire syndrome--and I'd suggest this influence and effect has been felt worldwide. I'd also suggest this is not negative and is, in fact liberating. So after 1) ingredients, 2) technique and 3) presentation--what are you left with as possible determinants? Two obvious factors: 4) the culinary history of the region and 5) the pride of place that a chef within that region might feel toward those that came before. I have only eaten significantly in one Canadian region--Toronto and Niagara-on-the-Lake--so I am in no position to make any pronouncements, but I did "feel" an attempt, on the part of several leading chefs in that region--to define themselves by their region--not only in terms of locally sourced Canadian ingredients but especially by their aim to create a synergy between those ingredients and the wines of that specific region. Simplistically, let's say this might be the Napa Valley effect--a synergy of terroir that might develop because of locally sourced ingredients and wines. Whether you accept this possible synergy or not, it would be dangerous and speculative to try to extend that to an entire nation, any nation, especially one with insular pockets and communities spread so far across the map. But for the sake of argument--are there other factors that might warrant consideration in trying to define a uniqueness of a country or region or even a city? How about: 6) the overall dining experience, not limiting ourselves to the "cuisine"--is it possible to detect and quantify any unique standards of service and hospitality that distinguish a country or region? or 7) the relationship chefs have with their audience in particular countries or regions? or 8) the awareness and appreciation of the dining public in a region? Is it possible that the uniqueness of an area's cuisine has less to do with ingredients and techniques--which I see as inherently limiting and begging for a certain answer--and more to do with other factors? I guess what I'm trying to get at is something more ephemeral and less quantifiable: I talk with Philippe Conticini at least once a week and in almost every conversation we have about food and cooking, Philippe says to me that what he misses most about the US, when he is back in France, is the "spirit" of cooking he "felt" here. It really had nothing to do with ingredients, techniques or particular chefs--but, for him, was something that simulataneously included and transcended all of that. For Philippe, it is definitely unique and very different from France. But then the media likes to describe Philippe as a philosopher-poet. Might it be possible to come closer to the uniqueness of a country, region or city if we expand our criteria?

how would you characterize the service Bux? how did it compare to your experiences at other elite restaurants in Paris on previous visits?

I just had another thought about the freezing candy bar issue--sugar acts as an anti-freeze in ice creams and sorbets--the higher the % of sugar in a mixture, the softer it will be in the freezer. could it be that the candy bars that lend themselves best to freezing--and hence less likely to chip a tooth--are the cheapest ones, the ones that have the most sugar? The most sugar by weight in the chocolate--albeit a cheap chocolate coating--would likely be a milk chocolate, which would have the least amount of cocoa mass and cocoa liquour--and also likely a bar with a gooey caramel. Lily--sounds like you win the prize for your Snickers observation. The 3 Muskateer bar doesn't freeze and eat well because of that nougat layer--which freezes hard as a rock. Must not have enough sugar in it! wonder how much of the enjoyment of melted cheap candy bars has to do with smell?

speaking of money Bux--do you recall how much you paid for your meal? did you choose any wines?

anyone tried the candied pumpkin cube, pumpkin seed, pistachio and phyllo tartlette at Petrossian boutique that was recently mentioned in the Times?

to bring this, however briefly, back to candy bars tasting better right out of the freezer--I'd suggest that might be because most are made of crap, mushy overly sweet pseudo-chocolate, caramel that doesn't taste caramelly (is that a word?) enough, nougat-like or mousse-like substances rather than something worth savoring at room temperature. my sense might be that freezing dulls our ability to detect the medicinal, mechanical and synthetic notes in commercial candy bars--and improves the pallid, flaccid texture by hardening it up. to take this to another level--try removing a piece of chocolate chunk from any of the super-premium commercial ice creams, like Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey. set it aside, let it come to room temperature and then taste it--as chocolate. absolute dreck. frozen though, you don't notice its gravelly, slate-like cloying sweetness.

this thread might be a good tie-in with the "Americans don't cook at home anymore" thread on the Cooking board--which supposedly was the hypothesis of Michael Whiteman, a restaurant consultant and fellow contributor to Food Arts magazine. Andy quoted him as saying that "Americans gave up cooking a long time ago and have no intention of taking it up again." By way of answering this question, I find I agree: Between my wife and myself--we "cook" a total of 2 breakfasts and 3 dinners per week--the rest of the time we eat out or take out from restaurants and eat in. The only thing I cooked--savory-wise-- in the past week was a killer de Puy lentil salad with crisp lardons for Thanksgiving. Our habits haven't changed since 9/11--though we are spending slightly less overall on food, probably subconsciously due to the recession we just found out we have been in since March.

The knives I use most often are: 1. the typical 10" German high carbon, no stain chef's knife. I find I prefer the feel of the Henckels molded black rubber handle--but it's not any more functional a knife than any of the other German knives; 2. cheap, disposable Victorinox 3" paring knives, the kind with the red plastic handle; 3. a firm 12" serrated knife by F. Dick (1037-30); 4. a less firm, somewhat flexible 14" serrated knife by Forschner/Victorinox (455W-14) about half the thickness of the F. Dick blade. Certain things just seem to cut better with the lighter, flexible blade, like slicing large diameter cakes horizontally. Of course, some pastry chefs swear by their metal spatulas as much as their knives, which can cost as much: my favs are a flexible 8" straight stainless spatula by F. Dick (1331-23); a firm 8" bent spatula by "I'm not sure anymore--it wore off"; and a flexible 11.5" bent st. st spatula by Deglon.

Here's my list: 1. 1.8 Qt. saucepan 2. 2.7 Qt. saucepan Bourgeat "Universal" st. st. induction line (French)--since I have to do alot of demos and appearances with portable induction stoves. On the Bourgeat, I love the rounded handles which keep cool, bent just so for your thumb to rest in an indent on the top surface, and they are soldered onto the pan intelligently so it cleans easily, with no nooks or crannies for dirt and food to get stuck into. Also, the base is seamlessly integrated into the sides--again, easy to clean. They are indestructible and have a curved lip--making it very easy to pour from the pan cleanly. They also work fine on regular stovetops. 3. 1.5 Qt. saucepan 4. 3.0 Qt. saucepan Sitram st. st. (French)--your basic line for restaurant use, with flat but curved handles with a hole in the handle to hang. Nothing special, but serviceable, almost indestructible, with a curved lip--but slightly harder to clean, with an exposed base and handle edges to trap grit. All of these saucepans, my main cookware for pastry work, share one characteristic--they are much wider, in diameter, than they are tall, proportionately--better access with hand tools, more surface area, better evaporation, etc. 5. 10 Qt. stockpot with 2 handles 6. 14 Qt. stockpot with 2 handles Both stainless steel from Macy's "Tools of the Trade" Royalty line, which I can't remember whether that was the best or just the better one of their house lines. Both turned out to be indestructible stockpots with a heavy base--and a nice price to performance ratio for boiling/poaching stuff in--especially when you consider how expensive the large size stockpots from All-Clad et al are. 7. Half sheet pan Thick-walled aluminum. I have to include this here, since we're limited to 7 pans only and I probably use half sheetpans for more things, and more often, than any other "pan" in my collection--roasting, broiling, water bath, baking, drying--you name it, this pan does it. It should probably be number 2 on my list, after a saucepan, in terms of its vitality and usefulness. I have not had good luck with Calphalon. I don't like the All Clad "Ltd" line because, though it might look cool, you can't put that anodized black aluminum exterior in the dishwasher. The regular All Clad pieces I've had and worked with seemed excellent--sturdy--though the handles and rivets are hard to clean and the edges are straight--as I've mentioned, I prefer the edge with a lip, making it much easier to pour. Less expensive but still serviceable have been the various Cuisinart st. st. saucepans I have used--and still use to this day. They just don't crack my top 7. My number 8 pan, if allowed, would have been a shallow, but wide 5 Qt. Cuisinart sauce/saute pan similar to the one Steven mentioned.

I tend to think of non-stick pans as disposable. Buy cheap--use it for the few things one might--like for eggs, as you mentioned or sauteeing apples or caramelizing banana slices--and then throw it out. The one expensive, serious non-stick pan I've tried--a Kitchenaid skillet--worked exquisitely for about 6 months of moderate use--then deteriorated noticeably. I loved the heft and balance of the pan and only wish it wasn't non-stick to begin with, for now it just hangs there, waiting to be put in storage with the rest of my supposedly--but laughably not--non-stick Calphalon pans.

Roger--even at newly "discovered" and, as a result, marked up prices, those Australian dessert wines are still a bargain compared to old world dessert wines--like Sauternes, eiswein--which are usually way above โ US per 375 ml bottle and just as unbelieveably labor intensive to produce. So these Australian stickies--many around ฤ+ per bottle--are bargains, still. So are many North American dessert wines--especially Canadian icewines, like Inniskillin, which has made the biggest commitment to market their wines in the US--and recently, along with other VQA producers of icewine in Ontario, have gained entrance to EU markets--so now Canadian icewines can be sold in European markets. This is really an amazing development for international wine lovers. Aside from Canadian icewines, my other favorite two North American producers of dessert wine are also real bargains: the Moelleux, made of botrytis-infected chenin blanc grapes, from Chappellet Vineyards in St. Helena, CA, which has attained cult status somewhat among sommeliers, pastry chefs and foodies in the know--the last vintage I tasted was the 1997...and anything made by Navarro Vineyards in the Anderson Valley, Mendocino, CA. A quick scan of their website reveals that they currently have a 2000 Gewurztraminer 'Vineyard Select Late Harvest' (ภ for 375 ml) and a '97 Muscat Blanc 'Cluster Select Late Harvest' (ษ for 375 ml). Both bargains. (I have only mentioned dessert wines so far, but both Navarro and Chappellet have wonderful table wines that are bargains--a current fav in NYC seems to be the Chappellet Chenin Blanc 'Old Vine Cuvee' (พ direct from the winery, wholesale even less!) because it is cheap, dry and done seriously. It is a stunning indictment of the current wine media and marketing cabal that so few producers of quality chenin blanc wines remain in the US, but this is one worth dying for.) http://www.chappellet.com/ http://www.navarrowine.com/main.php http://www.inniskillin.com/default.asp?location=home On to rieslings and sparkling shiraz.

welcome back ellen--I've missed your contributions while you've been away. my nomination for most over the top kitchen gadget--but one that has since become indispensable to me: the hand-held infared laser thermometer these things have started to gain wider acceptance in the food industry as more people embrace the HACCP temperature recommendations and test that food is maintained within the safety zone. The particular model I use is by Cooper Instrument Corp. Model # 461--purchased from JB Prince--and what I really like about it is that it switches from degrees F to C easily. It measures the surface temperature of things--many use it to read the inside temp of ovens--but I find myself using it for chocolate work: it effortlessly reads the surface temp--so you can figure your internal temp is a degree or two higher. (FYI--It does not work with clear or boiling liquids--so measuring sugar as it cooks this way is out.)

Helena--JB Prince sells books geared to professionals--though anyone may buy them--and I recommended the current, modern Lenotre series because those volumes are quite clear and straightforward in explaining the way many of us do things now. (I admit I don't often read Food & Wine, though I like looking at the pretty pictures.) That said, you may have a tough time finding those old Lenotre books from the 1970's that Gale recommends--one volume on Desserts and Pastries circa 1975 and another on Ice Cream and Candies. You might have better luck finding the Barron's paperback, called "The Best of Gaston Lenotre's Desserts," which was nicely edited and compiled by Philip and Mary Hyman from the original French language editions and included a nice dictionary of terms and procedures. I found my copy in a used bookstore for 6 bucks. Try Kitchen Arts & Letters, too. They have value from a culinary history perspective--though from that stone age I prefer the Thuries series when I'm interested in looking back at the "classics." Still, there are some nice sections in the Lenotre--like on the stages of cooking sugar and on brioche. Better still than both the Lenotre and the Thuries, however, if you actually want the best hands-on course on classic French pastrymaking is the 4 volume set called "The Professional French Pastry Series" by Roland Bilheux and Alain Escoffier (Van Nostrand Reinhold).

you have great instincts Sandra. The reason I was able to try that wine was because Karen MacNeil, the wine director of the CIA-Greystone and author of a new, incredible wine book called The Wine Bible (Workman Publishing, ร.95), chose it specifically to pair with 2 different pumpkin desserts--Pat Coston's Pumpkin Cheescake Tart from Ilo Restaurant, NYC (Linzer dough, raspberry gelee and cream cheese) and also Eric Bedoucha's Pumpkin Napoleon from Bayards, NYC (poached pumpkin balls in wine with citrus peels, vanilla and cinnamon, a spiced pastry cream and crispy napoleon layers). It was my favorite wine match--better than the Hungarian Royal Tokaji 1996 and the Far Niente Dolce 1998 we also tasted them with.

Sandra--I'll track down some more specific info--but the importer is Astra Wine Imports of Roswell, Georgia. (Both the Rutherglen muscat and tokay are available in wine stores in DC--and as Adam mentioned, extremely affordable values, considering how expensive and labor intensive dessert wines tend to be.) The phone for Astra: 770.594.8595 (Edited by Steve Klc at 9:08 am on Nov. 23, 2001)

Pat Coston is doing an exceptional pumpkin cheesecake tartlette at Ilo (40 W. 40th Street), with a delicate Linzer dough crust and the tiniest bit of raspberry confit. The cheese is cream cheese and interestingly, the filling is baked in a water bath, separately, and then added to the tart shell, which has been baked blind ahead of time. It has the requisite clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and demonstrates the difference between what a good baker can achieve--and what a really good pastry chef can achieve. I'll ask him if we can post the recipe here.

Elizabeth Blau came to MGM/Mirage from New York's Le Cirque--she's a VP in charge of restaurant development there and a force behind the branding concept in resorts, casinos, etc.--marketing Vegas as a serious culinary destination.

and there you have the rub Adam--it's hard sometimes to make international comparisons because each market is subject to different import/export restrictions. Thank you for the lead on Chambers, Campbells and Morris--I'll look out for them here.

This weekend I tried two Australian dessert wines--the 1997 Rutherglen Show Muscat D.P 63 by Seppelt and the 2001 Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling. The Mount Horrocks was enjoyable, though nothing special, and certainly not in the league of the best American riesling dessert wine: the 1997 Late Harvest Cluster Select Riesling by Navarro Vineyards (Anderson Valley, Mendocino). The Rutherglen Show Muscat, however, was stunning and world class. It joins the 1996 Rutherglen Show Tokay D.P. 57 (also by Seppelt) as one of the most interesting, most complex dessert wines I've ever had--and good food matches as we move into the cold weather months and pastry chefs start changing over their menus to pumpkin, chocolate, roasted fruits, spice and nuts.

My current top 3 recommendations for Parisian patisseries: Allow me to second Bux's enthusiasm for Herme--and suggest two other patisseries--Gerard Mulot 76, rue de Seine 01.43.26.85.77 and Peltier on 66, rue de Sevres. Philippe Conticini has slowly and slyly begun a complete overhaul of that famous patisserie's entire line of bon bon, entremet, entremet glace and pastries. Philippe's laboratory--where he creates and experiments for all of his clients--is upstairs. (Years ago, Philippe worked here for the famous pastry chef Lucien Peltier--and has since returned to lead the shop into the modern age.) Philippe's new line of chocolates and bon bons has not been discovered yet--enjoy. I can no longer recommend Laduree nor Fauchon--since the very capable and talented Sebastien Gaudard has left Fauchon--both are now rather stale relics and tourist traps. And as far as chocolatiers go--the most elegant and refined in Paris at the moment is...still... Jean-Paul Hevin.

sorry I have been delinquent in posting, but some of you know that the last month has been quite hectic for me--and remains hectic through this weekend at the New York Chocolate Show. I have mentioned the Kunz book on other threads--and I only wish such an examination of flavor interaction has been written by the French masters. If one has been translated into English, comparable to Kunz, I am not aware of it.